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Man who died 'the worst death imaginable' still entombed in cave over a decade later

Home> Community> Life

Published 17:28 16 Dec 2023 GMT

Man who died 'the worst death imaginable' still entombed in cave over a decade later

He had been caving in the Nutty Putty cave when the unthinkable happened

Kit Roberts

Kit Roberts

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A man ended up dying a horrifying death while out caving.

No matter what biohacking we do, all of us are going to have to meet our deaths sooner or later.

Tragically, when John Edward Jones went out for a day's caving in the Nutty Putty Cave in Utah, he didn't know he would never come out again.

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John, who was only 26-years-old, had gone to the popular caving spot located around 55-miles from Salt Lake City.

It got its unusual name because of the putty-like quality of the earth inside, and its large caverns made it a popular spot for beginners as well as more experienced cavers.

He was joined at the cave by his brother Josh as well as several other friends and family for the day's expedition, which they hoped would be a nice way to reconnect.

Once everyone was underground, John, who was 6ft tall and 200lbs, decided to try out a part of the cave which required cavers to crawl on their bellies.

John Edward Jones died in the Nutty Putty Cave.
Family Handout

This was known colloquially as 'The Birth Canal'.

Thinking that he had found the passage, John made his way into it headfirst, but it was at this point that he realised that something was very, very wrong.

Unfortunately, it was not in fact the passage that John thought it was, and was a different one measuring just 10 inches by 18 inches.

In an attempt to squeeze through the passage John breathed out in an attempt to narrow his chest, but when he inhaled and his chest expanded his fate was sealed.

John found that he had gotten stuck headfirst in the passage, unable to go any further forward or to move backwards back out again.

Rescuers arrived at the cave in Utah.
FatalBreakdown

Over 100 rescue workers were mobilised in an effort to get John out of the passageway, but sadly he ended up wedged even further in the passage.

It's also possible that he would have become slightly more wedged into the crack with each breath.

This would also have constricted his chest making it increasingly harder to breathe, until eventually he died more than a day after first getting stuck due to cardiac arrest.

The passage was so tight and difficult to access that rescuers could not even retrieve his body from the cave.

So, in a final morbid development his body was left in the cave, where it remains.

The Nutty Putty Cave was sealed off following the awful tragedy - and now serves as a memorial to John.

Featured Image Credit: Family handout / GoogleMaps

Topics: News, US News, Sport

Kit Roberts
Kit Roberts

Kit joined UNILAD in 2023 as a community journalist. They have previously worked for StokeonTrentLive, the Daily Mirror, and the Daily Star.

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